The other day I asked,”What is keeping new networks and channels from forming on the Internet?” The answer, of course, is nothing. The answer, of course, is that there already are a significant number of channels on the Internet. We often just don’t think of them that way yet.
The old-time TV set had a circular dial (remember those?) that you twisted to view the available channels. In my early childhood we only had four channels (ABC, CBS, NBC, & PBS) plus one fuzzy station (channel 17 whatever that was) that always had something interesting.
With cable TV came an expansion of channels but it was (and still is) packaged as a set of choices. With the Internet the options are wide open. Certainly there are dominant brands. We all know about YouTube. And there’s Netflix for traditional movie/TV watching. But how does a newcomer compete with that? Everybody offering anything on the Internet has the same problem: finding an audience.
People have an overwhelming amount of choices. People need a reason to view what you’re offering. What is it that you’re offering that matches their interest?
See where this is all going? Vertical niches. Many TV channels are built around a vertical niche: a cooking channel, a travel channel, a sports channel, a history channel, etc.
A vertical niche is all about creating a community, giving people a reason to not only visit but also to participate. More on this topic soon.